The first time I ever heard Jim Carrey’s name was over twenty plus years ago when I happened to catch an episode of Entertainment Tonight. They ran a short, five minute piece on this up-and-coming comic. I think I may even still have it on tape. In those five minutes, Carrey completely blew me away with his rubber faced antics. At the time the piece ran he was still only doing stand-up, but I remembered his name when he later popped up on the short-lived series, “The Duck Factory” and the film “Once Bitten.” You'll even catch him at the beginning off Clint Eastwood's "The Dead Pool" as Johnny Squares, a soon to be dead rock 'n' roll singer who is seen in a video for "Welcome to the Jungle." (Yes… that's really him… go back and check it out). None of these did much to get Carrey the attention he deserved, but each year he would pop up in a movie or two until the TV series “In Living Color” and the film "Ace Ventura" launch him into the stratosphere.

Since that time, he's made a ton of movies (and a ton of money), most of them hit and miss in terms of quality and humor. For every "Bruce Almighty" (funny), there is a "Me, Myself and Irene" (Not funny). Along the way he even put away his rubber faced antics and proven himself to be a fairly solid dramatic actor, such as he was in the little seen "The Majestic" and seemingly channeled the spirit of the late Andy Kaufman in "Man on the Moon." I guess what I'm trying to say is that no matter how incredibly talented Carrey is… he still has his duds.

"Fun with Dick and Jane" is a remake of the 1977 film (which starred George Segal & Jane Fonda), and while it isn’t a bad film, falls somewhat closer to the level of dud. Carrey stars as Dick Harper, a corporate ladder climber who has made it to the VP position at the corporate giant, Globodyne. His position has allowed him and his wife, Jane (Tea Leoni), to live a comfortable life. But when his boss steals millions from the company, Dick is left without a job. So, in order to maintain their lifestyle they turn to a life of crime, starting off small and eventually working up to bank robbing. Hilarity ensues.

I had high hopes for "Fun with Dick and Jane", not because I'm a bit of a fan of Carrey's, but more because I've been impressed over and over with the talents of writer Judd Apatow. Apatow has been responsible for two of televisions most highly underrated shows, "Freaks and Geeks" and " Undeclared." Both shows offered brilliantly funny and realistic portrayals of high school life on the 1980's and college life in the 1990's, yet neither were able to find an audience. He then made waves with the surprisingly funny "40 Year Old Virgin", which blew away all expectations I had for what I thought would be just another immature comedy. Unfortunately, his talents did not surface as strongly in the script for "Fun with Dick and Jane" (for which he shares credit with writer Nicholas Stoller).

The film does have some wonderfully funny moments, most of which are due to Carrey's hammy overacting, but there are not enough of those moments to keep the film's momentum running at full speed. The rest of the time the movie is watchable, but just not as funny as you might want it to be.

Sony is releasing the DVD this week, and I have to say I was a bit surprised by the overall quality of the transfer. Considering the fact that Sony's discs are usually extremely well produced I expected the film's sound and picture to be sharper. As for extra features, these offer more for your money than the film does. There is a commentary by writers Apatow and Stoller, who are joined by director Dean Parisot, which is a fairly funny track. But the best of the features offers a gag reel of Carrey goofing around and a look at the press junket for the film. This latter feature is hysterical at times. You'll also find some deleted scenes, but nothing here is especially memorable.

"Fun with Dick and Jane" is a relatively amusing film and you won’t consider it a waste of time watching it, but you will find yourself 'jonesing' for some of Carrey's better efforts.

Directed by: Dean Parisot
Starring: Jim Carrey, Tea Leoni, Alec Baldwin, Richard Jenkins
Extras: Gag Reel, Deleted Scenes, Publicity Outtakes, Audio Commentary by Writers Judd Apatow and Nicholas Stoller and Director Dean Parisot
Specifications: Widescreen (2.40:1), Full Screen (1.33:1), Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Studio: Sony / Columbia Tristar
Release Date: 4/11/2006
Region 1
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Brief Language, Some Sexual Humor and Occasional Humorous Drug References)
Website

We'll give Fun with Dick and Jane a C.